My husband and I have spent the majority of our winter’s in Northern Indiana and Michigan…we are pretty experienced snow-stormers.  Therefore we did the only smart thing:  stock up on liquor.  We hosted a nice little liquid brunch here yesterday to celebrate our “snowday” and my friend’s birthday.

Our little “Arctic Blast” (as the stations here called it) did not start out well for me.  I was scheduled for an all day mediation on Thursday morning, it was about 20 degrees, and my car would not start.  Great. After 20 minutes of trying to locate my battery in the dark I was more than happy my mediation canceled.  By this time I had finally pried off the bizillion plastic covers that hid my battery, my hands were covered in oil, and I couldn’t feel my fingers.  Needless to say, I literally just shut the hood and walked back to my apartment.  I managed not to get any oil on my suit!

I spent the rest of my Thursday on the couch clearing out the DVR and carb-loading for the impending weather.  On the menu:  Cookies N Cream Luna bar, pretzels, warm chocolate chip cookie, and Cinnabon cereal.  (Cereal is so addictive)

Both lunch and dinner were breakfast food.  Like I said….carb loading.

Friday morning I woke up to the Houston “Winter Storm” aka some ice on overpasses and Interstates.  I wasn’t surprised the least bit that we didn’t get any bad weather but I had a day off school nonetheless.  I hit the gym for 3 miles of intervals, 30 minutes of elliptical, and about 15 minutes of weights.  Then I decided to make some fried banana sandwiches for breakfast.

Fried Banana Sandwich

1 banana

butter/Smart Balance

Ground flax meal

cinnamon

peanut butter

2 pieces of bread

Cut the banana in half, then cut halves lengthwise.  Heat skillet to medium, drop spoonful of butter into pan, roll banana in ground flax meal and cinnamon.  Place in buttered pan and cook until lightly brown on all sides.

Spread peanut butter/nut butter of choice on bread, top with fried bananas, spread thin layer of butter on outside of bread and cook like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Once bread is slightly toasted, cut in half and enjoy!  ***If you want to cut down on butter, simply toast the bread before putting sandwich together and skip the grilling part***

The rest of Friday involved mimosas, screwdrivers, chips, salsa, and dinner at TQLA. I will be back to recap the evening once I feel better.

Reminder to self:  I am not 21 anymore.

Yes, it’s summer! And is there a better summer treat than the classic banana split?

[Source]

As you may know, Foodbuzz helped Electrolux and Kelly Ripa raise money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund by sending two Foodbuzz Featured Publishers to New York and giving them an opportunity to make banana splits with their kids.  (Source:  Foodbuzz, click here for more information: : http://www.kelly-confidential.com/foodbuzz.)

Foodbuzz is helping raise awareness again for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund by hosting a Top 9 Takeover.  Foodbuzz Featured Publishers, like myself, are encouraged to create their own banana splits in hopes of being featured on the daily Top  9.

As much as I love bananas I admit that I am not really a big fan of the traditional banana split.  No fear, I made over the banana split into something more my style.

Banana Split Breakfast

Don’t worry, this oatmeal bowl still has chocolate, strawberry, and banana.

1/2 cup oats

1 tsp flax meal

1/2 scoop chocolate protein

1 cup milk or water

coconut, shredded or shaved

1/2 chopped banana

2-3 chopped strawberries

small scoop of nut butter or chocolate peanut butter

*optional blueberries

Mix oats, flax meal, and milk together.  Cook as directed.  Stir in chocolate protein.  Sprinkle coconut on top.  Top with bananas, strawberries, and optional blueberries.  Stir in nut butter.  Feel free to top with a cherry.

This breakfast bowl contains all elements of a traditional banana split:  chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, banana,  and nuts.

The weather was absolutely beautiful yesterday I am told (damn you Mother Nature) so the hubby wanted to go for a run after dinner.  I decided to peel myself from my desk chair and join him.  Sitting at a desk from 7am to 7pm does not do good things to the legs.  My entire body hurt to run and my legs felt like cement blocks were attached.  I drug my exhausted self 2.21 miles and called it quits.  It looks like I will have to work my butt off to get back to where I was endurance wise.

Breakfast this morning was out of the ordinary for me (i.e. not a GM or oats).

I found this lonely english muffin in the back of the pantry and figured I should probably eat it.  I filled it in with 1/4th cup egg beaters and strawberry jam.  (Love the savory/sweet combo).  On the side I ate a few strawberries and slices of banana.  It was nice to change up breakfast but I am worried it won’t keep me full as long!

I also used a Dunkin Donuts coffee sample I received in the mail the other day.  I have never actually been to a Dunkin Donuts before.  There weren’t any where I grew up and the only ones I know of here are in real shady parts of the Loop.

Results:  It smelled pretty darn good, but I was not very impressed with taste.  I blame that on my snobby fresh ground Central Market coffee habit.  A lot of the bloggers I read swear by their iced coffee, so maybe one day.

Here is a review of my Monday:

I sat here all day.  Literally.  I was in the chair shortly after 6am and didn’t get out until our run at 7pm.  Sadly, this is pretty organized as far as my desk area goes.  (And yes, I make piles and know exactly what each one is for)

Survival kit.

Lunch.  Joseph’s Lavash wrap (you must try these!), hummus, veggies, veggies on the side, and pita chips (x about 5 more servings as snacks).

Dinner.  Cereal, strawberries, bananas, and lots of cinnamon.  Yes, I drink iced coffee with dinner.  I also had an unpictured protein cake after my run.

That is it folks.  I still have class today and tomorrow (don’t even get me started on that topic) and more to cram into my brain than humanly possible.

Fun fact: I now drink coffee like I take tequila shots:  fast and in multiples.

P.S. I finally updated my About Me page, so check it out if you feel so inclined.

It appears some other bloggers share my gum addiction!  In honor of my addiction, here is the inside of my pack of gum.  Extra has added these little sayings to their packages, they make me laugh.

Back up to this morning…

I whipped out the french press and made some coffee.

Mhmm.  Doesn’t that look good?  This was actually some Spec’s coffee.  I have found I like it more than Central Markets and it is cheaper.  Latest flavor:  Vermont Maple Crunch.

Mid-morning snack was half a sandwich thin with Laughing Cow and strawberry jam.

Lunch was cereal, strawberries, bananas, protein powder, and Silk.

Also for lunch was half a toasted pita stuffed with strawberries and strawberry jam.  As you can tell I had some strawberries that needed to be used asap.  I also cut a couple of pieces from my hubby’s leftover donuts.

The afternoon involved studying, studying, and more studying.  I snacked on some Melba crackers, carrots, and grapes.

Dinner was a nice big salad with….you guessed it, strawberries.  On the side I had the other half a pita with Laughing Cow.

I haven’t mentioned it on the blog, but the last couple of weeks have been extra stressful because we have been car searching.  We moved to Houston with only one car.  This worked out fine because I walk to school and my hubby was riding a vanpool, so the car was there when I needed it.  The hubby was recently moved to another facility where he must drive.  (His commute is ridiculous-don’t get me started!)  Anyway, on top of studying we have been trying to find a second car.  Anyone that has ever shopped for a used car knows how stressful it can be, especially when are on an extremely tight budge like we are.  Anyway, we spent a lot of time this weekend dealing with it and another couple of hours this evening….and we found a car!  Woo-hoo!  We have put our deposit down, so lets hope everything goes smoothly.  I am so glad to be done looking, researching, and test driving.  It was a giant time suck on my studying!

I am going to attempt to stay up for at least 3 more hours of work, sleep for about 5, then get up and do my briefing for pre-trial.  I need an extra 6 hours or so today to get caught up!

How was your Monday?  Anything spectacular happen?

My hubby just found out that he got a raise today after his annual performance review!  It was like they knew we were about to drop all of our savings on a car!

Sorry I haven’t been here all weekend.  After volunteering at the Tri I was exhausted (more about that in a minute) and have spent most of the time sitting at my desk trying to learn Texas Marital Property law.

Saturday the hubby and I volunteered at a Triathlon down in Kemah.  We  were up at 3:30, out of here by 4ish, and surprisingly made our 4:45 meeting time.  I have never been a race volunteer before so I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  My hubby has volunteered at a couple of my races and he was always a course monitor, thus he stood on the course, cheered and watched for cheaters.  Well… lets just say that is NOTHING like what we did.

The hubby and I ended up on the bike course team.  I was the only girl, I now know why.  We worked from before 5am until almost 1pm.  And when I say work, I mean manual labor.  We were in charge of laying all the cones and signs for the 12 mile bike course.  Volunteering thoughts:

• lifting piles of 20+ orange cones at a time is really heavy
• Laying down cones while hanging off the  side of a moving trailer is harder than you would think
• Leaning your body in a contorted form to try and not fall off the trailer  leaves numerous bruises, muscle cramps, and uses some massive core muscles
• Trying to pick up the cones while leaning over the moving trailer is a seriously difficult task.  I was the master.  Wish these NFL receiver hands came with a professional athletes body.
• Putting down and picking up 12 or so miles of cones is a serious arm, ab, back, leg, everything workout–I AM SO SORE!!!!!

If you can’t tell, my triathlon volunteering was absolutely nothing like I thought it would be.  To top it off it started to storm, so I spent the last 7 miles of cone grabbing being blasted with rain and wind.  That said, I really ended up having a good time.  It has been a long time since I have done an honest days worth of manual labor, and it felt good.  It also felt good to help.  There was a team of about 6 of us who did all the setup, maintenance, and tear down of this course, and I definitely did my part.  It was great to feel like I made this event possible for all those athletes after being on the other side for so long.

I did manage to catch a little bit of the race while we waited for the last biker to clear the transition area.  I am not going to lie, I had some serious Tri envy!  I could feel the excitement!  I want to do one!  (I must get a bike first and learn how to swim competitively first).  Anyone a triathlete?  Tips for breaking into the sport?

After we finished tear down Satuday the hubby and I were starving (we hadn’t eaten since 3am) and could already tell we were going to be in some pain.  I have bailed hay in my day, but I was sooooo much more sore today when I woke up!  Not to mention my legs are bruised and swollen from where I had to lean my body weight and balance on the side of the trailer.  I also plan on skipping upper body strength for a few days because my biceps burn trying to life a water bottle.

After all my achy whining, my body hurts, but it feels good to push it sometimes.

I took my bruised and battered self for a 6 mile run this morning.  The weather was perfect and I couldn’t pass it up!  I popped some ibuprofen and headed out.  I am now taking it easy and studying until I pass out on the desk and the hubs moves me to bed.

Weekend Food Recap in Photos

Thank goodness I made this to eat at 3am before the Tri.

Once we made it home, we collapsed on the couch and I ate the biggest wrap I could make!  I put a whole Boca patty in there.  I also munched on Wheat Thins and cocoa roasted almonds.

Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch were both a GIANT bowl of cereal.  The millet and kamut puffs I bought the other day only have 50 calories/cup so I fill my bowl to the max!  Topped with bananas, strawberries, protein powder, and small dollop of AB.

On the side both meals I had half a toasted pita full of jelly and bananas.

Tonight I made a giant salad monster.  This thing was huge and I ate every last bite!

Today I have snacked on some Wheat Thins (my hubby better never buy these again) and a doughnut.  The hubs also bought a box of donuts this morning–clearly he doesn’t realize sugar is dangerous around me during finals.  These were massive donuts so throughout the day I have been cutting little pieces as sugary rewards.

Okay, time to study!  Anyone do anything fun this weekend?  Let me know, I need to live vicariously through people who aren’t permanently glued to their desks.

The first day of finals studying and I have gotten no studying done. I have just been trying to keep up with my daily assignments which have increased a ton! All of my professors seem to be trying to play catch-up and are loading the work on. Not good timing. Needless to say, I am going to try and stay up really late or get up really early to get in a couple hours of study time.

Monday recap:

Breakfast was a nice big bowl of oats/bran. This was a hearty change from the GM. I made a huge batch to last me the week! This morning I topped mine with banana, strawberries, and AB.

There was also coffee consumed x2.

Lunch was courtesy of My Fit Foods. I got a great Groupon deal the other week for a $35 giftcard for only 15 bucks! Steal.  The hubby and I knew things were going to be crazy this week so we picked up some meals this weekend.  When you go to store, all meals have labels with size, nutritional information, heating instructions, and best by dates.

These are Miguel’s Snack tacos.  3 tacos, 270 calories, 3.5 g fat, 41 g carbs, and 18 g of protein.  These were quite yummy.

I ate 2 of the tacos and saved one for the hubby to eat.  I am a volume eater-I need to consume a lot of food- so these meals are just too small for me.  I added a side salad to bulk it up.

Overall, the food was good but the meals are pretty pricey.  If you really don’t have time to shop or cook then this would probably work for you.  The hubby and I really need more food (more volume) and definitely couldn’t afford to do this for every meal.  With that said, it might be a good solution for finals time!

Snacks included some pita chips, grapes, and handful of jelly beans.

Dinner was quick and the hubby prepped everything for me.  Sweetie.

I had another Lavash wrap stuffed with hummus, sauteed mushrooms and onions, diced tomatoes, and some scallions.  I love these wraps!  Wish I could find them somewhere besides Wal Mart because I hate making the trip outside the loop.

On the side were carrots, cucumbers, and ranch.  Simple and delicious meal.  Eaten on a paper plate-one less dish.

After dinner we headed to park to run.  Bad call.  We went right after dinner so that I could get back and work.  Maybe it was lack of time to digest, maybe my stomach just hurt…but my “run” was really more of a walk.  I “ran” 3 miles in about 34 minutes.  My stomach was in terrible pain and I just couldn’t run.  Lesson learned.

Study.  Pass out.  Goodnight.

I was really excited for my run this morning because there was hardly any traffic and only a few people out on the trail.  (Note to self:  run at 8am on Easter Sunday more often)  I had planned a 9 mile run, but within the first mile I knew that wasn’t going to happen!  It was unearthly humid!!!!!  I am entering my second summer here in Houston and still cannot believe the humidity!

I could actually feel myself running into particles of moisture.  Gross.  I ran slow.  Slower than I have in a long time.  I honestly couldn’t breathe.  The air was too thick to breathe and the allergies were horrible!  After 59 minutes and 6 miles I threw in the towel!  My hat was so completely soaked that sweat was pouring into my eyes…YUCK!

Anyway, it is hot here.  And humid.  But time to recap the weekend anyway.

Saturday started with a nice 6 mile run.  Finished in 54:50.  Not too shabby.  I wasn’t pushing too much, just enjoying the run.

During Saturday errands we stopped at Whole Foods to find this sweet deal:

Buy 1 Get 1 Free take and bake pizzas.  Yum!  These things are so huge!  Clearly I had a slice of this monster for lunch Saturday.

Dinner was a HUGE sweet potato with vegetarian beans and cinnamon.

The hubby and I also split a sliced apple with dinner.  Yes, more cinnamon.

After dinner I couldn’t beat my sweet tooth.  I gave in.  I will conquer my sweet tooth this week-hopefully!

On the plus side I made this delicious protein cake!

Chocolate covered strawberry protein cake

1 scoop Lean Dessert Protein-Chocolate pudding

1 tsp baking powder

3 Tbsp egg substitute

1 Tbsp applesauce

about 10-15 mini chocolate chips

Strawberry jam of choice

I used a bigger, shallow Pyrex bowl to cook in.  Spray with non-stick spray.  Add in wet ingredients.  Mix in dry ingredients.  I use a small whisk to make the dough fluff up a bit.  Sprinkle mini chips on top of mixed batter. Microwave about 2 minutes depending on microwave strength.  Take out and cover with strawberry jam of choice.

*I bought Smuckers sugar free jam yesterday because that was all that WalMart had–YUCK!  This had nothing on Polaner’s sugar free with fiber.  I will have to go to Kroger and get the good stuff next time!

Trooper has been a real spit fire this weekend!  Here he is protecting his squirrel.

Easter Sunday started with pre-run fuel…

Kashi Go Lean Truly Vanilla packet with banana, AB, and sprinkle of Honey Nut Cheerios.

Then I went on a run through a tropical rain forest, erh, went on a run around Houston.

I got home (showered first, no worries) and then unwrapped this baby.  All I can say is… WHY DIDN”T I BUY THIS SOONER????  Ahhhhhh….felt so good on the leg muscles.  This thing probably would have helped a lot when training for my 3 halfs.  Oh well, I am enjoying it now!

Lunch started with this WalMart find.  Just 100 calories for this monster sized wrap.

Stuffed the wrap with hummus, mushrooms, cucumbers, onions, and pickles.  On the side some pita chips.  The wrap tore a little bit while I was eating it (when doesn’t that happen?), but I loved the slightly chewy texture.

Currently snacking on a bowl of fruit, writing this post, and starting homework.  If you haven’t noticed I am a massive slacker when it comes to school.  I just really dislike all my classes this semester so I have no motivation whatsoever!  Off to read, read, read!

Anyone do anything special for Easter?  Family traditions?

Clearly the hubby and I don’t do a lot of holiday celebrations.  We live 1,000 miles from our friends and family so there isn’t much of a point.  We just did what we do every other Sunday.  (I didn’t get any Easter candy…disappointing but good for the abs)

Ah, it is so hard to get back into  school work and a regular schedule after Spring Break.  Well, lets be honest it is hard to get back into school work at any point.

Remainder of Tuesday eats:

Dinner was the remaining 1.5 servings of Lentil soup.  I really like this stuff and will probably buy again next time I am at the store.  I always add fresh ground pepper to it (and all soups), but I also enjoyed adding small scoop of regular hummus.

On the side, piece of ww toast with Laughing cow, tomato, and fresh ground pepper.  Seriously the best combination ever.  I also had about 5 crackers with hummus.  I needed some crunch.

Unpictured snack included a huge bowl of cantaloupe.  I have NEVER liked cantaloupe.  I love every other melon possible, but for some reason stayed away from the orange stuff.  Well, long story short-the hubby likes it, I bought him one, cut it all up, ended up eating a bowl, and didn’t hate it as much this time.

I am fighting a serious sweet tooth these days so I decided to make myself a little something.    Every time that I track my food I come up short on protein.  I am short on my protein on almost a daily basis.  (Likely because I am a carb and fruit queen!).  In hopes of killing two birds with one stone I attempted to make  protein cake that I saw over at Meals & Moves.

Problems with my attempt include: not using a big enough dish and not having very good protein.  (Again, I must be too lazy to get to store).  Anyway, Janetha’s cakes look awesome everyday so I am going to tweek the recipe and try again.  When I get a combo that works for me I will post!

Wednesday-Half Way There!

Still no cardio for this gal.  I am hoping to hop on my stationary bike for about 20 mins today.  Although I have taken the dog on as many walks as possible to get in some activity (he doesn’t mind), I am being very careful not to jump back in too fast and cause injury.  In my mind I can run 26 miles on the weekend and hit the gym Monday for an hour–WRONG!

Lauren from Biochemista suggested some yoga and foam rolling for my post-race legs.  Somehow I still haven’t bought a foam roller (I am just lazy), so I did some yoga and stretching this morning.  Legs are feeling good!  Thanks for the advice!

After stretching, I did about 35 minutes of upper body strength work.  Gotta have time to watch my Buffy episodes.  They just don’t make sitcoms like they did in the 90s!

Breakfast was the last of my strawberries, 3/4 of banana, about 1/2 cup cheerios, cinnamon, and some Texas honey.  Yum!  I followed this with a glass of chai tea.

On Day 2 post race the legs are feeling much better.  They are still a tad bit achy (like tired achy) and my left IT band  needs some serious stretching.  I think another day or two and I will be ready to get some cardio back into my life!  One slight problem is that a toe on my left foot is pretty swollen and really, really sore!  My hubby looked up stuff online (professional) and said it looks like I have a severely bruised toe.  Bruised toe?  What?  Oh well.  Better than broken.

This morning was a cereal morning.  I am cleaning out the pantry.  1 cup Honey Nut Cheerios, half a banana, 1 diced strawberry, sprinkled on some protein powder, and Silk.  My stomach was growling by 9 in my first class.  Perfect.  I also got called on for recitation.  Even better.  Nothing like being drilled with questions in front of everyone while your stomach is growling.

I think cereal makes a better snack than meal for me.  Unless it has a lot of fiber (like Fiber One original) I am always hungry within an hour or two.

Anyway, lunch:

All packed up.  Baked sweet potato, half an apple, and mini Larabar.  This Larabar was peanut butter cookie–yummy!

During my break, I decided to take a walk in the sun rather than get coffee.  Did the trick.  Back to work!

I took the little guy out about 530 this morning and BAM–humidity.  This seems more like Houston weather.  Looks like a pony tail and head band today.

P.S. Houston is not the place to move if you have any sort of curl to your hair.  I have probably only attempted to really straighten my hair out a handful of times in the 2 years we have been here.

Breakfast will probably be one of the GNC shakes the hubby got me, on the go, as I walk to class.  I woke up and immediately made a cup of chai because this lazy butt could not get out of bed!

Lunch was prepped last night (yes, I know I am organized):

Overnight oats.  Bag of toppings.  This morning I added 1/2 container greek yogurt to my oats and packed a little bag of frozen blueberries.  Snacks include an apple and mini Larabar.

Rewind to dinner:

Started with a huge pot of cooked carrots.  I cut up 4 large carrots, added water, agave, and cinnamon.

Don’t judge but I might have snacked on carrots while cooking my carrots.  I should probably have night vision by now with all the carrots I eat.

Dinner ended up being a random cooked veggie plate.  I had cooked carrots, green beans with roasted mushrooms and onions (cajun style), and half a sandwich thin with hummus and mushrooms.

Unpictured dessert was 1/2 frozen banana sandwich.  And possibly a few of my hubby’s chocolate covered pretzels.

I have a super busy day today, so I will be leaving you until tomorrow.  Here is some stuff to check out in the meantime:

• Baylor University Announces First Cup-Free Half Marathon:  Projected to prevent the waste of 28 thousand cups!!!

• Eat This, Not That- The Best and Worst Foods at the Gas Station:  Browse this before those Spring road trips.

• My grandma sent me this e-mail.  For all those who love their pets more than humans, enjoy: